How to Write Blog Content People Want to Read and Share

I was honored to join Atomic Chat this week, a Twitter chat hosted by Atomic Reach.

The topic was based on my article, ”7 Simple Tactics to Create Blog Content That Spreads Like Wildfire,” and created a lively discussion around blog content, engagement and what makes it readable, shareable, exciting and compelling.

Below are the question and answers between Atomic Chat and myself, including the many incredible shared nuggets of wisdom throughout this chat.

In case you missed the conversation, you can catch the entire chat here#AtomicChat.

Q1: How important is it to pick a niche when blogging?

Extremely! Focus on your area of expertise and get clear on your target market. Otherwise, you’ll get lost in the noise. Define your professional expertise; what you’re passionate about and who it is you want to serve.

Once you define your niche and target market, you can create content specifically designed with their needs in mind.

Q2: How do you optimize your blog posts as much as possible? What should you consider?

Always review and tidy it up before publishing. Remove any unnecessary words/phrases. Look to your adjectives and adverbs!

Pay attention to your keyword density – the percentage of keywords used based on the number of words in your post.

Don’t neglect your images! Your image title and alt attribute affect SEO and your ranking, so be clear in your description.

Q3: How frequently should you post content?

There are many who say once per day while others say once a week. To me the answer can be found in a few key questions.

What are your goals, time commitment, and reader appetite? There is no one size fits all answer.

To me it always comes down to quality over quantity. How much can you commit to without quality suffering?

Remember: writing your latest blog post and hitting publish is just the beginning. Always make time for promotion!

Q4: How do you write catchy headlines/ blog titles?

The goal is to create short, effective headlines. Start with your main keyword and then work it into your title and post.

That doesn’t mean stuffing the keyword in to an awkward post title. Make it natural, organic and relatable.

You want your post title to stimulate curiosity, generate a response or action and summon emotions.

Q5: What does readability mean, and how does it help bloggers?

Readability is what your reader will feel as they read through your post. What emotions are you eliciting?

I also read each of my posts out loud to get a better feel for flow and how it will sound to my reader.

If I’m tripping over words, I’m positive they will as well. I edit my posts ruthlessly!

Q6: “Apply the Rule of One” – what does this mean?

The ‘rule of one’ is applying one writing rule to each of your posts.

Do you offer a solution, show how-to, encourage through facts or entertain? Know your posts end goal.

Then ask:  How does this article make the lives of my readers better or easier?

Q7: You get a lot of shares and comments on all of your articles, how do YOU create content that spreads? What have you learned?

My goal is to create content that’s relatable and easily digestible. I do this by staying focused on topic and consistent.

I want my readers to feel that the complex just became simple and easy to implement.

Take your time.

I’m also looking to generate and maintain meaningful relationships. Great relationships sprout opportunity!

How are you creating engagement, interaction and content that people want to share? I’d love to hear your tips!